Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,492. Its county seat is Brookville. The county was established on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and later organized in 1830. It is named for President Thomas Jefferson. It is home to Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog that predicts when spring will come every February 2 on Groundhog Day. Jefferson County is in the sparsely populated Pennsylvania Wilds region.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) and average monthly temperatures in Brookville range from 24.8 °F in January to 68.8 °F in July, while in Punxsutawney they range from 25.7 °F in January to 69.6 °F in July.
Adjacent counties
Forest County (northwest)
Elk County (northeast)
Clearfield County (east)
Indiana County (south)
Armstrong County (southwest)
Clarion County (west)
Major highways
Streams
There are many named streams flowing through Jefferson County, far too many to list here. An exhaustive list is presented in a separate article. All those streams eventually flow to the Allegheny River except for Bear Run in the southeast which flows into the Susquehanna River. The principal streams and the area of their watersheds that lie within the county are:
Clarion River:
Little Toby Creek:
Clear Creek:
Cathers Run:
Mill Creek:
Redbank Creek:
North Fork Creek:
Clear Run:
Pekin Run:
Sandy Lick Creek:
Wolf Run:
Soldier Run:
Trout Run:
Mill Creek:
Fivemile Run:
Falls Creek:
Little Sandy Creek:
Mahoning Creek:
East Branch Mahoning Creek:
Stump Creek:
Big Run:
Canoe Creek:
Elk Run:
Pine Run:
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,932 people, 18,375 households, and 12,862 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,104 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.97% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 0.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.1% were of German, 13.4% Italian, 10.8% American, 9.2% Irish and 7.8% English ancestry.
There were 18,375 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.
2020 census
Law and government
Jefferson County is a very safe county for the Republican Party, which has won the vote of all but two presidential elections.
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Voter Registration
As of February 21, 2022, there are 27,832 registered voters in Jefferson County.
Democratic: 6,500 (23.35%)
Republican: 18,289 (65.71%)
Independent: 1,926 (6.92%)
Third Party: 1,117 (4.01%)
County commissioners
Herbert L. Bullers Jr.(R)
Scott E. North(R)
Jeffrey E. Pisarcik(D)
State Senate
Cris Dush, District 25
Joey Pittman, District 41
State House of Representatives
Brian Smith, Republican, Pennsylvania's 66th Representative District
United States House of Representatives
G.T. Thompson, Republican, Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district
United States Senate
John Fetterman, Democrat
Bob Casey Jr., Democrat
Education
Colleges and universities
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Butler County Community College (Brockway)
Public school districts
Brockway Area School District
Brookville Area School District
Clarion-Limestone Area School District
DuBois Area School District
Punxsutawney Area School District
Related public entities
Jefferson County-DuBois AVTS
Riverview Intermediate Unit #6
Private schools
Allens Mills School - Reynoldsville
Bear Lane School - Punxsutawney
Blose Hill Amish School - Reynoldsville
Bucks Run - Reynoldsville
Canoe Ridge Amish School - Rossiter
Christ Dominion Academy
Colonial Drake - Punxsutawney
Eagles Nest Amish School - Brockway
Highland Park - Punxsutawney
Hillside School - Punxsutawney
Lone Maple School - Punxsutawney
Maple Grove School - Reynoldsville
Mountain View School - Punxsutawney
Munderf Amish School - Brockway
Oak Grove Parochial School - Smicksburg
Pine Valley Parochial School - Punxsutawney
Playhouse Children's Center - Punxsutawney
Praise Christian Academy - Reynoldsville
Punxsutawney Christian Sch - Ele Level - Punxsutawney
Spring Hollow Amish School - Reynoldsville
Spring Run School - Smickburg
Sts Cosmas & Damian School - Punxsutawney
Trout Run School - Punxsutawney
Valley View School - Punxsutawney
West Creek Road Amish School - Punxsutawney
Willow Drive School - Punxsutawney
Windy Hollow Amish School - Mayport
Libraries
Jefferson County Library System - Brockway
Mengle Memorial Library - Brockway
Punxsutawney Memorial Library - Punxsutawney
Rebecca M Arthurs Memorial Library - Brookville
Reynoldsville Public Library - Reynoldsville
Summerville Public Library - Summerville
Sykesville Public Library - Sykesville
Licensed entities
Full Circle Inc Boys Home - Reynolds
Jefferson County Adult Detention Center
Western Pennsylvania School of Taxidermy - Oliveburg
Recreation
Two Pennsylvania state parks are in the county.
Clear Creek State Park is in Barnett and Heath Townships.
Cook Forest State Park is in Barnett Township and stretches into neighboring Clarion and Forest Counties
The Jefferson County Fair is held annually in July.
Communities
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Jefferson County:
Boroughs
Big Run
Brockway
Brookville (county seat)
Corsica
Falls Creek (partly in Clearfield County)
Punxsutawney
Reynoldsville
Summerville
Sykesville
Timblin
Worthville
Townships
Barnett
Beaver
Bell
Clover
Eldred
Gaskill
Heath
Henderson
Knox
McCalmont
Oliver
Perry
Pine Creek
Polk
Porter
Ringgold
Rose
Snyder
Union
Warsaw
Washington
Winslow
Young
Census-designated place
Crenshaw
Unincorporated communities
Adrian Mines
Alaska
Allens Mills
Anita
Baxter
Beechtree
Beechwoods
Bells Mills
Blowtown
Bowersville
Cloe
Coal Glen
Conifer
Content
Coolspring
Cortez
Desire
Dora
East Branch
Ella
Emerickville
Fordham
Forestville
Frostburg
Fuller
Hamilton
Hazen
Heathville
Horatio
Howe
Kahletown
Knox Dale
Lanes Mills
Langville
Markton
McMinns Summit
Munderf
North Freedom
Ohl
Oliveburg
Panic
Pancoast
Pansy
Pardus
Port Barnett
Porter
Prescottville
Ramsaytown
Rathmel
Richardsville
Ringgold
Rockdale
Roseville
Sandy Valley
Schoffner Corner
Sigel
Soldier
Sprankle Mills
Stanton
Stump Creek
Sugar Hill
Valier
Walston
Warsaw
Westville
Winslow
Wishaw
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Jefferson County.
† county seat
Notable people
John T. Morrison, sixth Governor of Idaho from 1903 until 1905; born in Jefferson County.
Sparky Lyle, professional baseball player
Chuck Daly, American basketball head coach
George Jenks, politician
Florence Parry Heide, author
Wilbur Good, professional baseball player
Andy Hastings, professional football player
Mal Eason, professional baseball player
John Mizerock, professional baseball player
Devin Mesoraco, professional baseball player
Jim Pittsley, professional baseball player
Britt Baker, professional wrestler and dentist
Laura Temple, missionary teacher and archaeologist in Mexico
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Oil Creek Library District
References
Pennsylvania counties
1830 establishments in Pennsylvania
Counties of Appalachia
Populated places established in 1830